Health and Wellness

The Olympics is the height of an athlete’s career. Some will not pass up the opportunity to participate in the Olympics no matter what their physical condition might be, look at Lance Armstrong.

Olympic runner Novlene Williams-Mills was diagnosed with breast cancer, but unbeknownst to any of her running colleagues, she took to the track in June of 2012, just days after her diagnosis, to win her spot on the Olympic team in the Jamaican Senior National Championships. She won the 400 meters in 50.60 seconds to win her spot on the team. A month later, she went on to London with her team to win the 400 meter with the Jamaican relay team, according to the Daily Mail.

Atten-Hut! Is that what we think of when we hear the phrase, “good posture?” Talk of good posture often generates images of women walking in a circle with books balanced on their heads or soldiers standing at attention. But good posture does not have to be rigid or ridiculous. In fact, far from ridiculous, it may be the key to good health.

Many women complain of lower back pain, stiff necks and shoulders, most of which have a direct correlation to poor posture. If you sit hunched in front of a computer screen all day, it's likely the head hovers towards the screen, the lower back has collapsed and the tail bone is supporting the weight, and legs are crossed or splayed. Remember the phrase, “put yo hands on yo hips and let yo backbone slip.” Bad standing posture includes the same hunching or lateral misalignment, like standing with a hip cocked to one side. These common forms of less-than-perfect posture mean less-than-healthy consequences for the body. Let me tell you…I know. I’m in physical therapy right now because of hovering over a computer too long.

Have you ever waved at an acquaintance across the room and your skin between your elbow and shoulder waved more than your hand? I refer to that as the “second hand”. A common question for someone who has lost a lot of weight is, “what do I do with the excess skin?”.

Osteoporosis is the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time. There are no symptoms in the early stages of this disease; but over time other symptoms become obvious. A woman’s bones may become painful or tender. Bones can also fracture with little or no trauma. There can also be a loss of height (as much as 6 inches) over time. Have you ever seen an individual, usually someone of seasoned age, who is starting to bend over forward? Usually that is from Osteoporosis. The condition is called “kyphosis”.